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chucklebuck's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
brittster622's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not gonna lie.. I went into this thinking about Disney Tarzan and I should have known better..
This book was way better than the movie (and I like that movie.) I was amazed at how much action and actual plot you can put into living int he jungle especially when there really isn't much dialogue going on for a while. The action was consistent and fit the story well. The ending made me mad. However, this is apparently a loooooong series and I think I will continue with it.
I was very pleasantly surprised.
This book was way better than the movie (and I like that movie.) I was amazed at how much action and actual plot you can put into living int he jungle especially when there really isn't much dialogue going on for a while. The action was consistent and fit the story well. The ending made me mad. However, this is apparently a loooooong series and I think I will continue with it.
I was very pleasantly surprised.
ruutiainen's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
1.75
Rasistinen, brutaali ja patriarkaattinen teos
duffypratt's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
How have I not read Burroughs before? This book is very silly, almost unbearably racist, and lots of fun. A bit bored with other options on my Kindle, I made an impulse buy of 10,000 pages of Burroughs for a buck. Before, I always thought the books would be just too juvenile for me (even when I was juvenile myself).
Very silly: Tarzan teaches himself to read without any exposure to language at all, and he understands ideas and concepts to which he has had no exposure (ships, lights, clothes). He is impossibly strong, in addition to being impossibly smart, and he somehow manages to race through the trees in the jungles faster than anyone could traverse on foot, at heights that are probably taller than any actual jungle.
Unbearably racist: The apes come off better than the blacks. Tarzan, who has no exposure to race at all, somehow instinctively understands that the difference between him and the African tribes is the color of his skin. He also seems to instinctively know that white people are like him, and somehow better than the black people in the nearby tribe. Furthermore, born Lord Greystoke, Tarzan has somehow been imbued with instinctive notions of honor, fidelity, love, etc... These are his birthright, somehow in his genes (together with inherent physical superiority). The odd thing is that these things he is born with did not come so naturally to his father, who fared much worse in the same jungle, though possessing many other civilized advantages (like having guns).
Lots of fun: The novel is much better written and better plotted than I would have expected. It does a good job of lampooning the non-Tarzan whites in the books, including the white hunters in the nearby village, and the clueless explorers whom Tarzan is perpetually saving. And given the silliness of the start of the romance between him and Jane, its outcome was excellent and quite satisfying (while also leaving open the possibility for the further adventures).
Will I read all 10,000 pages of Burroughs. I'm coming very late to the world of pre-WW2 pulp, reading Howard, Lovecraft and now Burroughs. All of them are unexpectedly good, but I don't actually know how long my enthusiasm will last. (I can only take Lovecraft now in fairly small doses, and Howard is seeming rather repetitive.) But truthfully, I just don't know. I am surprised at how much fun this book was, despite its obvious problems.
Very silly: Tarzan teaches himself to read without any exposure to language at all, and he understands ideas and concepts to which he has had no exposure (ships, lights, clothes). He is impossibly strong, in addition to being impossibly smart, and he somehow manages to race through the trees in the jungles faster than anyone could traverse on foot, at heights that are probably taller than any actual jungle.
Unbearably racist: The apes come off better than the blacks. Tarzan, who has no exposure to race at all, somehow instinctively understands that the difference between him and the African tribes is the color of his skin. He also seems to instinctively know that white people are like him, and somehow better than the black people in the nearby tribe. Furthermore, born Lord Greystoke, Tarzan has somehow been imbued with instinctive notions of honor, fidelity, love, etc... These are his birthright, somehow in his genes (together with inherent physical superiority). The odd thing is that these things he is born with did not come so naturally to his father, who fared much worse in the same jungle, though possessing many other civilized advantages (like having guns).
Lots of fun: The novel is much better written and better plotted than I would have expected. It does a good job of lampooning the non-Tarzan whites in the books, including the white hunters in the nearby village, and the clueless explorers whom Tarzan is perpetually saving. And given the silliness of the start of the romance between him and Jane, its outcome was excellent and quite satisfying (while also leaving open the possibility for the further adventures).
Will I read all 10,000 pages of Burroughs. I'm coming very late to the world of pre-WW2 pulp, reading Howard, Lovecraft and now Burroughs. All of them are unexpectedly good, but I don't actually know how long my enthusiasm will last. (I can only take Lovecraft now in fairly small doses, and Howard is seeming rather repetitive.) But truthfully, I just don't know. I am surprised at how much fun this book was, despite its obvious problems.
zmull's review
4.0
So, the elephant in the room (pun intended)- yeah, Tarzan of the Apes is racist. It's built on inexcusably racist notions of genetics and race memory. It treats black characters with contempt. It treats working class white characters slightly better, but still with much disdain.
But, obviously its not just racism. People wouldn't still be reading it a hundred years later if it was just jacked up racial theorizing. The book is also full of some great action set pieces, weird hero shit like Tarzan teaching himself to read, and some truly sparkling flashes of imagination. Can a modern reader separate the racism from the wonders? I don't know, man. That debate is more than I can engage with in a Goodreads review. For me, I winced a lot but, I ended up liking it mostly.
But, obviously its not just racism. People wouldn't still be reading it a hundred years later if it was just jacked up racial theorizing. The book is also full of some great action set pieces, weird hero shit like Tarzan teaching himself to read, and some truly sparkling flashes of imagination. Can a modern reader separate the racism from the wonders? I don't know, man. That debate is more than I can engage with in a Goodreads review. For me, I winced a lot but, I ended up liking it mostly.
soapythebum's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book for what it was, a story of high adventure. Some very well written pulp that kept me interested from the first pages. I look forward to reading the later books in the series as well.
maur_damar's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Sexism and Injury/Injury detail
lotterose95's review against another edition
1.0
Marking this as DNF because I don’t think I’ll ever bring myself to read the last book, the second one was painful enough.
wintergirl94's review against another edition
4.0
Not 5 stars as I feel some of the writing and plot points don't translate to a modern audience, but that's no one's fault!
I had only seen the Disney version (as I'm sure is true for many) and had no idea about the story behindthe film. I am so glad I read this book, and have gone on to read the others in the series. It's an amazing adventure story all led yb tarzan's neverending love for jane, and who can't love that?
I had only seen the Disney version (as I'm sure is true for many) and had no idea about the story behindthe film. I am so glad I read this book, and have gone on to read the others in the series. It's an amazing adventure story all led yb tarzan's neverending love for jane, and who can't love that?